Cryptsy is an exchange based in the U.S. with its headquarter in Delray Beach, Florida. The exchange was founded in 2013.

Update January 15, 2016: Cryptsy has announced that it is insolvent as a result of a hack attack one and a half years ago. This hack caused a loss of 13,000 BTC and 300,000 LTC. This was never disclosed, and the exchange hoped to get away with this by eventually repaying its users from profits. An increase in withdrawals ruined this plan, and has caused Cryptsy to follow in the footsteps of the infamous MtGox. Digiconomist had predicted this in March 2014, concluding that it would only be “a matter of time before Cryptsy faces a serious accounting or security failure”. In hindsight, this prediction became a reality just four months later.

Trades

Cryptsy is widely known for the number of cryptocurrency pairs that can be traded on the platform. If you want to trade over a 100 cryptocurrency pairs, this is definitely the right exchange for it. It should be noted that most cryptocurrencies pairs, however, cannot be traded directly. Trades have to be executed through either USD, Bitcoin or Litecoin. Only six major cryptocurrencies can be bought directly with USD. The bid-ask spreads for trading are rather high, being two percent or more for BTC/USD or even up to nine percent for BTC/LTC. The regular trade fees for a buy or sell order add another 25 basis points. This is, however, a bit deceptive given the limited number of possible direct cryptocurrency pair trades. Trading Dogecoin for Peercoin, for example, would therefore require two trades and cost 50 basis points in fees.

The only available order type is a limit order, market orders are not available. The default values for the buy or sell price are equal to the best available ask or bid respectively. Advanced order types could be more extensive, but at least trigger orders (stop-loss orders) have been made available.

Funding

The funding options for Cryptsy are very poor. Making an international deposit is only possible through e-wallet EgoPay. In order to get money in an EgoPay wallet, another account at another service is required. It is possible to use Payza to this purpose, which accepts bank/wire transfers and credit cards. The fees involved in this can make funding not just complicated, but also very expensive. The funding options for U.S. customers are better, although not ideal either. Checks and money orders are accepted from the latter group.

Update January 22, 2015: Payment processor EgoPay has ceased trading. The impact on this review is minimal, as it was not rated as a serious funding option.

Compliance

Cryptsy is registered with FinCEN, but does not provide any public audit information such as Proof of Reserves. This could help in fending off persistent rumors that Cryptsy operates off fractional reserves. In a public discussion, it was indicated that Cryptsy did have an external audit for its USD implementation and does not trade on fractional reserves. But again, further details were not provided.

Update January 15, 2016: The rumors on Cryptsy operating off fractional reserves turned out to be true, as it had being doing so since it lost 13,000 BTC and 300,000 LTC in a hack in July 2014. Cryptsy managed to hide this for one and a half years. See update at the top.

Platform

Despite having a crowded interface with all tradable cryptocurrencies, buying and selling is very straightforward. The trade screen can be easily found, and placing an order is as easy as entering an amount and pushing a button (a confirmation will be shown first). Additional information such as the order book is available, although there are no additional research amenities. Portfolio performance analysis is not available either, although it is possible to get a trade report. As is common for most exchanges, accounts can be secured with two-factor authentication.

Help & Support

Concerning the functionalities, Cryptsy offers a wiki that provides good guidance on how to use them. Some specifications of each tradable cryptocurrency can also be found. The support is a bit disappointing. The FAQ does not offer much information. Cryptsy cannot be reached by phone, and a ticket system is available for any questions. The exchange is sometimes criticized for taking too long to reply to a ticket even in the past few weeks. There is a community forum and a user chat which offers a little compensation.